The deal between Uber and the New York branch of the International Association of Machinists to create a non-union guild for the company’s drivers represents an awkward marriage of convenience between the two sides, experts say.
For the union, which has tried to organize the drivers without much success, it allows them to get one step closer to its ultimate goal of organizing the company. For Uber, it allows the company to placate liberal critics without actually having a union.
“I am sure that IAM wants a foot in the door and would very happily organize Uber’s drivers. The Teamsters would, too. As would many other unions. But that isn’t an offer and this is,” said James Sherk, labor policy analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation. “I’m sure Uber hopes to relieve political pressure on themselves through this deal.”
The inherent tension in those conflicting goals doesn’t bode well for the future of the effort, said Paul Secunda, professor of labor law at Marquette University. “I think the union gave up too much. I don’t think it will last,” he said.
In a joint announcement Tuesday, the company and the union said that its estimated 15,000 workers will be represented by the Independent Drivers Guild, a non-union organization that the company will pay the union to run. Uber has declined to say how much.
The guild’s benefits will include allowing drivers to protest “deactivation,” which is when Uber ends a driver’s contract, and appeal for reinstatement. It also promises monthly meetings with Uber officials to address drivers’ areas of concern.
“The guild is the first of its kind,” James Conigliaro Jr., general counsel for IAM District 15, said on a conference call Tuesday. “Drivers need immediate support, and we truly believed it was our responsibility to create a structure to help independent drivers in New York.”
What the guild cannot do is protest company policies to the National Labor Relations Board, the main federal labor law enforcement agency, since its members still will be classified as “independent contractors” instead of employees.
David Plouffe, the former White House spokesman who now represents Uber, characterized the announcement as “part of an ongoing effort by Uber to work more closely with drivers who use our app. That’s primarily about better communications, including listening to feedback more carefully.”
Uber has been targeted by unions seeking to find a way to organize workers in the gig economy for years. Earlier this year, after the company negotiated a settlement in a California class-action case involving unfair labor practices, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters attempted to intervene to stop the settlement, arguing it didn’t go far enough.
A court agreed last month, tossing a settlement estimated at $12.5 million and forcing Uber to accept a $100 million one instead.
The unions have been stymied by the simple fact that most Uber drivers have not expressed interest in joining a union even if they don’t like some of Uber’s practices, said Harry Campbell, a Los Angeles-based driver for Uber and other companies who runs a popular blog called Therideshareguy.com. Most drivers value their independence.
“This is a great partnership for IAM. It’d be very difficult to get 35,000 NYC Uber drivers to voluntarily sign up with their organization since most drivers have never heard of (the union) but this will put them clearly on (the drivers’) radar,” Campbell said.
That said, Campbell didn’t think Uber bent all that much in the union’s direction, arguing that “healthy skepticism” was warranted that the guild would lead to any changes in the company’s practices.
“Uber’s already specifically excluded negotiating over rates which would probably top the list of complaints for most drivers so if this guild can’t even attempt to negotiate over the one thing that matters most to drivers, it may not provide much actual value,” he said.
